Johnson & Johnson Will Not Have to Pay $417 Million in Baby Powder Lawsuit

The reversal comes after a record-setting jury verdict in August.

In a surprising turn of events, a California judge just threw out a huge ruling in a pivotal lawsuit linking Johnson & Johnson baby powder to ovarian cancer.

In August, we reported that a Los Angeles jury ordered the pharmaceutical giant to pay $417 million — a record sum in the lawsuits against J&J thus far — to Eva Echeverria, who alleged that her daily use of Johnson & Johnson's baby powder throughout her life had led to an ovarian cancer diagnosis. (The issue is that baby powder is formulated with talc powder, which some studies have linked to ovarian cancer.)

Now, according to a report by Reuters, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Maren Nelson has reversed the jury's verdict and allowed Johnson & Johnson's request for a new trial of the case. The reason for the reversal, according to the report, is that the judge felt the earlier trial lacked sufficient evidence on both sides, and that there had been misconduct of the jury, which led to excessive damages.

In light of the new ruling, Echeverria's legal team plans to keep fighting the pharmaceutical company. "We will continue to fight on behalf of all women who have been impacted by this dangerous product," said Mark Robinson, a member of Echeverria's representation.

In total, Johnson & Johnson is facing more than 4,800 talc-related lawsuits, Reuters reports. Five other cases have been tried so far, and Johnson & Johnson has lost all but one. As a result, the company has been ordered to pay $307 million in damages, in addition to the previous $417 million verdict.

However, a few days before this ruling, an appellate court in Missouri threw out another verdict — this one for $72 million — on the grounds that it was not tried in the right jurisdiction. (The plaintiff, in that case, was a woman from Alabama who died but the case was tried in Missouri raising questions over jurisdiction).

Johnson & Johnson maintains that its baby powder is safe for consumer use. "In April, the National Cancer Institute's Physician Data Query Editorial Board wrote, 'The weight of evidence does not support an association between perineal talc exposure and an increased risk of ovarian cancer,'" Carol Goodrich, a spokesperson for Johnson & Johnson Consumer, Inc., told Allure back in August. "We are preparing for additional trials in the U.S. and we will continue to defend the safety of Johnson's Baby Powder."

We've reached out to Johnson & Johnson for comment, but did not hear back in time of publish. We will update this post as new information becomes available.